CITY OF VANCOUVER

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

APRIL 30, May 1 and May 9, 2001

A Special Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Monday, April 30, 2001, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber, third floor, City Hall. The meeting was subsequently reconvened on May 1 and May 9, 2001 to hear the remaining speakers.

PRESENT:	*Mayor Philip Owen *Deputy Mayor George Puil Councillor Fred Bass Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Lynne Kennedy Councillor Don Lee *Councillor Tim Louis *Councillor Sandy McCormick Councillor Gordon Price *Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Mayor Philip Owen (Leave of Absence May 9, 2001) Councillor Daniel Lee (Leave of Absence for all dates) Councillor Tim Louis (May 9, 2001) *Councillor George Puil (April 30 and May 1, 2001) *Councillor Sam Sullivan (Leave of Absence May 9, 2001)
CLERK TO THE COUNCIL:	Nancy Largent, Meeting Coordinator

* Denotes absence on one or more of the three evenings

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Don Lee,
SECONDED by Cllr. Bass,

THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor Owen in the Chair, to hear speakers on the Framework for Action.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

1. Framework for Action: A Four Pillar Approach
to Vancouver's Drug Problems

At its meeting of April 24, 2001, City Council referred the Framework for Action: A Four Pillar Approach to Vancouver's Drug Problems to a Special Council meeting on April 30, 2001, to hear speakers. As instructed by Council, speakers were heard on April 30, 2001, and the meeting was reconvened on May 1 and May 9, 2001, to hear the remaining speakers.

Donald MacPherson, Drug Policy Coordinator, City of Vancouver, gave an audiovisual presentation on the Framework for Action referencing the Four Pillars: Prevention, Treatment, Enforcement and Harm Reduction. Mr. McPherson discussed the need for balanced public health and public order issues; a strong emphasis on implementation; and partnerships with other levels of government.

Council then proceeded to hear eighty-two speakers.

The following speakers generally supported the Framework for Action and the Four Pillars:

Nicola Hall, From Grief to Action
Randy Puder
Sid Tan
Gary Greer, Vancouver Police Department
Andrew Johnson, AIDS Vancouver
M. L. Burke
Ed McCurdy
Bert Messiah
Art Steinmann, Alcohol and Drug Education Services
Elizabeth Kelliher, Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement
Kirsten Stuerzbeher
Henry Davis
Kurt Locke
Andrew Larcombe
Richard Puder
Chris O'Rourk
Alan O'Rourk
Sandra Gracek
Tanya Feder
Rick Taylor
Chris Chouinard
Carl Bognar
Pam Fairfield
Don Baker
Pam Fairfield
Don Baker, VANDU
Dan Small
Mark Tyndall, Centre for Excellence, Saint Paul's Hospital
Allison Russell
Jim Nagy, VANDU
Thia Walter
John Cheetham and Noah Stewart, ETHISYS (joint brief filed)
Sharon Szonar
Don Allen
Patrick O'Rourk
Glyndur Shepard
Frances Kenny, From Grief to Action
Kevin Grant
Mark Haden
Jim Leyden, Circle Hope Coalition Society
Heather Steele, Circle Hope Coalition Society
Michael Carroll
Thomas Kerr
Gillian Maxwell, Vancouver Police Board
Richard Kay
Richard Goulet, VANDU
Tom Laviolette
Mark Townsend
Don Sixstrom
Richard Cunningham, VANDU
Ann Livingston, VANDU
Dean Wilson, VANDU
Chris Taulu, Collingwood Community Policing Office
Dorothy Potter, Information Services Vancouver
Susan Kurbis
Angela Sterrit
Jeff Summers
Heather Hay, Vancouver-Richmond Health Board
Robin Woodward, Vancouver-Richmond Health Board

Following are some of the comments made by the foregoing speakers:

· the comment most often made by speakers in this group was that immediate implementation is needed to prevent further deaths and deterioration of the community;
· addicts in the Downtown Eastside are desperately in need of medical and support services;
· the Framework is rational, thoughtful and well-researched, and accords with the findings of a growing body of medical research;
· civilian oversight and a transparent process are needed;
· safe injection sites should be at he end of the continuum of care, to be implemented only after other supports are in place;
· implementation of the measures will reduce overdose deaths, incidence of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis, and drug-related crime, and will increase community health, safety andproperty values;
· other countries have successfully implemented services based on the Four Pillars - a variety of examples were cited;
· incidence of drug abuse is growing among teenagers, and resources are needed to help them;
· successful implementation of this plan will require public education to reduce fear and misunderstanding;
· the Ministry of Education should be involved in a consistently applied educational program province-wide;
· addicts are entitled to be treated with dignity and compassion;
· addiction is a health issue, not a criminal issue, and not a choice;
· there is a long history of addicts in the Downtown Eastside, Strathcona and Chinatown, and they should receive health services in their own community just as would be expected for any other illness;
· methadone is legally manufactured in a controlled setting, and is a safer and stabler drug than heroin;
· treat disease in accordance with its epicentre;
· methadone maintenance stabilizes the user to better integrate with the community and be more productive;
· more facilities are needed to reach more people;
· harm reduction, such as needle distribution and safe shoot-up sites, is essential -realistically many addicts will not want to quit drugs now, but if they can be kept alive, there is hope that they can eventually be motivated to change;
· no one suggests these first steps will solve every problem immediately, but they deserve a trial;
· concerns about open drug use causing commerce in Chinatown to deteriorate do not take into account the decentralization of Chinese commerce to Richmond;
· the prohibition/abstinence approach does not work, but provides a cash cow for criminal elements;
· the Police will need to adjust their attitudes to work with Harm Reduction;
· family circumstances of addicts are often tragic - facilities are needed to support and connect the isolated and marginalised;
· from an economic perspective, harm reduction is the most cost-effective measure;
· implementation must be fair and equitable, and must implement the Four Pillars at a balanced rate;
· health facilities in all areas of the city should incorporate services for addicts;
· 1996 was the peak year for crime in the Downtown Eastside - property crime rate were cut in half from 1996-2000 after the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board put more money into area services;
· representatives of the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board reviewed existing and proposed drug and alcohol services (to be provided in community health centres in all of the community health areas), the rationale for the selected locations in the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown, available staffing and funding under the Vancouver Agreement, and the need for the federal government to take a lead in any discussion of safe injection sites since they are currently illegal.

The following speakers supported one or more of the Four Pillars, but also expressed one or more serious reservations:

Stuart Swain, Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (brief filed)
Tibor Palatinas, Narconon
Charles Lee, Chinatown Merchants Association
Lillian To, SUCCESS
Monty Jang, Chinese Cultural Centre
George Chow, Chinese Benevolent Association
Richard Lee, Community Alliance
Sang Lee, Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association (brief filed)
Kathleen Tse
William Chu
Sam Kam
Bryce Rositch (brief filed)
Michael Chang
Ted Free (brief filed)
K. K. Wan
Stella Wong

Following are some of the reservations expressed by the foregoing speakers:

· the most frequent comment made by speakers in this group was that too many recently-approved Vancouver-Richmond Health Board facilities have been located in the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown;
· most speakers expressed support for Prevention and Enforcement, and for Treatment as long as the facilities providing it are distributed fairly throughout the city rather than in one small area;
· most speakers in this group also opposed to one or more Harm Reduction measures, including increased needle distribution and safe injection sites;
· concerns were expressed about community safety, especially the safety of children and the elderly;
· concentration of services is destructive to communities - it will lead to increased presence of addicts and open drug activity;
· drug users taking drugs however they want cannot be tolerated;
· it is not effective to deliver services in an open drug scene - it is more logical to have services delivered away from where the drug problem is, preferably in an attractive area and with enticing amenities offered;
· lost revenues and the deteriorating economy of Chinatown were attributed to the presence of so much open drug activity on the streets;
· the acid test for deciding to implement any measure should be "will it decrease drug activity?";
· the Vancouver Police Department must enforce the Criminal Code of Canada equally throughout its jurisdiction;
· courage is needed to prosecute drug dealers;
· methadone treatment should not be increased - giving users an even more addictive psychoactive substance at taxpayers' expense is wrong;
· a thirty-seven thousand signature petition in opposition was ignored;
· use more common sense in choosing sites, with more public consultation, and work to reduce impacts;
· harm reduction trivializes drug addiction, and gives patients false hope and no motivation to change;
· the emphasis should be placed on prevention
· the needle exchange program hands out millions a year, but Vancouver still has one of the highest HIV and Hepatitis rates in the world;
· there must be provisions to audit cost effectiveness and inventory services, and dramatic economic development initiatives must be added;
· to stop profit to the drug lords, a successful plan would administer free drugs of choice to anyone.

The following speakers did not express support for the Framework for Action:

Julie Butler, Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Alex Wong
Thomas Ko
Iris Lee
Alvin Leung

Following are some of the comments made by the foregoing speakers:

· no program which includes recourse to psychiatry can be supported, on human rights grounds;
· it is not sensible to increase methadone addiction in order to decrease heroin addiction;
· location of facilities for addicts is a matter of life and death to Chinatown -proponents must make another effort to sit down with those most concerned to discuss the issue of locations;
· more addicts will come where the services are and they must be kept away from children and the elderly;
· there should be zero tolerance of crime, and mandatory rehabilitation of addicts;
· detox facilities in isolated areas away from the source of drug activities have been very successful.

During the course of the three evenings, Mr. MacPherson responded to questions about good neighbour agreements and related public consultation; distance requirements; the previously mentioned petition (received before the Framework public consultation process began); criteria for an inventory of services; appropriate tracking measures; and the legal framework for dealing with safe injection sites.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Deputy Mayor announced that a decision on the Framework for Action would be made at the reglar City Council meeting on May 15, 2001.

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Clarke,

THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Clarke,
SECONDED BY Cllr. Bass,

THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The Special Council recessed at 10:30 p.m. on April 30 and May 1, 2001, and adjourned at 11:15 p.m. on May 9, 2001.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver